


Freedom Isn't Always What It's Cracked Up to Be

by csichick_2



Series: Hooker AU [1]
Category: Rent - Larson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 05:41:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6143304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csichick_2/pseuds/csichick_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark runs away from Scarsdale when he is sixteen.  Unfortunately he finds that New York City is not an easy place to be a teenage runaway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freedom Isn't Always What It's Cracked Up to Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ecaracap](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ecaracap/gifts).



Mark feels an exhilarating sense of freedom when he steps off the train into Grand Central. He's now free to do whatever he wants - no more of his parents treating him like a little kid when he's sixteen. He's not sure where he's going to stay or what he's going to do for money, but he'll worry about that part later. He takes him camera out of his bag, planning to document every moment of his newfound freedom.

He quickly learned that finding legitimate housing and jobs are essentially impossible for teenage runaways, at least if they don't want to go sent straight back to their parents. It would have been smarter to wait until he was eighteen, but he’d have slit is own wrists before lasting another year and a half in that oppressive environment. After a few nights of sleeping on park benches - which is uncomfortable, but at least it's summer and warm at night - Mark runs out of cash, with no idea where he's going to get more. He looks at his camera sadly, realizing that he's going to have to either sell his most prized possession or return to Scarsdale. Going back is not an option, so he sets off to find a pawn shop. He's disappointed when the camera gets him only one hundred dollars, as it had cost him twice that when he bought it with his Bar Mitzvah money three and a half years prior, but he's also desperate, so it will have to do. But soon that money is also gone and he’s facing the same dilemma all over again. But this time he doesn’t have anything to sell, so he resorts to begging for money. It’s humiliating, but still better than having to return to his parents.

And then one night, he’s naïve enough to follow a man to his car believing that he wants to help. Instead Mark discovers that he does in fact have one more thing to sell – himself. As he throws up in an alley afterwards he wonder if the freedom from his parents is worth what it’s going to cost him.


End file.
